The Drop: Harry Bosch, Book 17

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two. DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer, or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics....

The Black Box: Harry Bosch, Book 18

In a case that spans 20 years, Harry Bosch links the bullet from a recent crime to a file from 1992, the killing of a young female photographer during the L.A. riots. Harry originally investigated the murder, but it was then handed off to the Riot Crimes Task Force and never solved. Now Bosch's ballistics match indicates that her death was not random violence, but something more personal, and connected to a deeper intrigue. Like an investigator combing through the wreckage after a plane crash, Bosch searches for the "black box", the one piece of evidence that will pull the case together.

The Reversal: Harry Bosch, Book 16 (Mickey Haller, Book 3)

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Nine Dragons: Harry Bosch, Book 15

The one good thing in Bosch's life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him and Bosch travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he's lost. In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city's Hungry Ghosts festival burns around him, Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate bid to outmatch the triad's ferocity.

The Brass Verdict: A Novel

Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.

The Overlook: Harry Bosch Series, Book 13

A body has been found on the overlook near Mulholland Drive. The victim, identified as Dr. Stanley Kent, has two bullet holes in the back of his head, from what looks like an execution-style shooting. LAPD detective Harry Bosch is called out to investigate. As soon as Bosch begins retracing Dr. Kent's steps, contradictions emerge. While Kent doesn't seem to have had ties to organized crime, he did have access to dangerous radioactive substances from just about every hospital in Los Angeles County.

The Burning Room

In the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit, not many murder victims die almost a decade after the crime. So when a man succumbs to complications from being shot by a stray bullet nine years earlier, Bosch catches a case in which the body is still fresh, but all other evidence is virtually nonexistent. Now Bosch and rookie Detective Lucia Soto, are tasked with solving what turns out to be a highly charged, politically sensitive case.

The Closers: Harry Bosch Series, Book 11

In Los Angeles in 1988, a 16-year-old girl disappeared from her home and was later found dead of a gunshot wound to the chest. The death appeared at first to be a suicide, but some of the evidence contradicted that scenario, and detectives came to believe this was in fact a murder. Despite a by-the-book investigation, no one was ever charged.

The Fifth Witness

Mickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home. Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too - and he's certain he's on the right trail. Despite the danger and uncertainty, Haller mounts the best defense of his career in a trial where the last surprise comes after the verdict is in.

Echo Park: Harry Bosch Series, Book 12

In 1993, Marie Gesto disappeared after walking out of a supermarket. Harry Bosch worked the case but couldn't crack it, and the 22-year-old was never found. Now, more than a decade later, with the Gesto file still on his desk, Bosch gets a call from the district attorney. A man accused of two heinous murders is willing to come clean about several others, including the killing of Marie Gesto.

The Gods of Guilt

Mickey Haller gets the text, "Call me ASAP - 187," and the California penal code for murder immediately gets his attention. Murder cases have the highest stakes and the biggest paydays, and they always mean Haller has to be at the top of his game. When Mickey learns that the victim was his own former client, a prostitute he thought he had rescued and put on the straight and narrow path, he knows he is on the hook for this one. He soon finds out that she was back in LA and back in the life.

Lost Light: Harry Bosch Series, Book 9

Four years ago, LAPD detective Harry Bosch was on a movie set, asking questions about the murder of a young production assistant, when an armored car arrived with $2 million cash for use in a heist scene. In a life-imitates-art firestorm, a gang of masked men converged on the delivery and robbed the armored car with guns blazing. The crime was never resolved, and the young woman's murder was in the stack of unsolved-case files Bosch carried home the night he left the LAPD.

The Narrows: Harry Bosch Series, Book 10

FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years: the one that tells her the Poet has returned. Years ago she worked on the famous case, tracking down the serial killer who wove lines of poetry into his hideous crimes. Rachel has never forgotten Robert Backus, the killer who called himself the Poet, and apparently he has not forgotten her either.

The Lincoln Lawyer

Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense pro who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, to defend clients at the bottom of the legal food chain. It's no wonder that he is despised by cops, prosecutors, and even some of his own clients. But an investigator is murdered for getting too close to the truth and Haller quickly discovers that his search for innocence has taken him face to face with a kind of evil as pure as a flame.

A Darkness More than Night: Harry Bosch Series, Book 7

A movie director is charged with murdering an actress during sex, and then staging her death to make it look like a suicide. In a seemingly unrelated case, a loner is murdered, leaving the sheriff's department with no clues. One unsettling revelation after another leaves a retired FBI agent and an L.A. detective thinking they've unmasked a most frightening killer with almost inconceivable calculation.

Angels Flight: A Harry Bosch Novel

An activist attorney is killed in a cute little L.A. trolley called Angels Flight, far from Harry Bosch's Hollywood turf. But the case is so explosive - and the dead man's enemies inside the L.A.P.D. are so numerous - that it falls to Harry to solve it. Now the streets are superheating. Harry's year-old Vegas marriage is unraveling. And the hunt for a killer is leading Harry to another high-profile L.A. murder case, one where every cop had a motive. The question is, did any have the guts?

The Scarecrow

Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career. He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent.

Trunk Music: Harry Bosch Series, Book 5

Back on the job after an involuntary leave of absence, LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is ready for a challenge. But his first case is a little more than he bargained for. It starts with the body of a Hollywood producer in the trunk of a Rolls-Royce, shot twice in the head at close range - what looks like "trunk music", a Mafia hit.

Publisher's Summary

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two.

DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer, or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court.

Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation.

Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.

The only reason I hesitate to call this THE best Bosch ever is that I do not want to diminish all the previous wonderful volumes. Nevertheless, this book is the best Bosch in a long time. Although Connelly's style remains direct and unadorned, the subtlety with which he develops his characters' thoughts and feelings resonates throughout the story, increasing its depth as the plot continues to ravel and finally unravel in a thoroughly satisfying denouement. For those of us who have read all the Bosch novels, The Drop is a moving continuation of a man's life, a man whose purpose and ethic remain steadfast in a changing world. Bosch's relationship to his daughter, so central to 9 Dragons, takes a more symbolic role in the present novel, allowing the relationship to mature in some ways, but also allowing Bosch to regain the kind of independence that characterized his more youthful investigations. That said, The Drop is also a reflection on aging, on the kinds of questions we men of Bosch's age are asking ourselves in the later years of our professional lives, whether we still have "the edge". With this book, Connelly proves he still does have it, and it's sharper than ever, technically and creatively. As always, Cariou masterfully complements Connelly; this great actor still has "the edge" too.

I have missed Harry Bosch, he is one of my favorite characters and this one didn't disappoint. He is back in rare form and he hasn't lost his touch. I love his daughter's character and I can see her being a future main character as she grows. It was definitely a great read and I was sorry when it ended.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Drop to be better than the print version?

I prefer the audio version because if the reader is good the story comes alive. Len Cariou narrated this book perfectly. He gave life to the characters. The printed edition cannot do that.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the juxtoposition of the two crimes -- they were different yet the author was able to blend the stories together well.

What about Len Cariou’s performance did you like?

It was Len's ability to enliven the characters in the book. As you listen along, it seems that you are watching a play.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Everyone count or none at all -- Harry Bosch

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. Len Cariou's narration was perfect (and he does not have a lisp either), and the story is full of twist and turns typical of Connolly, that you really need to focus so as not to miss anything. Harry's relationship with his daughter is further developed in this story and it was done very well. Maddie is already displaying a sharp sense of observations and maturity, inherited from Eleanor Wish, her mother and Harry, her father. I can't wait until Maddie follows in Harry's footstep. She'll make a great detective!

Connelly is the very best at writing the ideal hard-boiled detective story. Harry Bosch is beloved for a reason. In this book, there is not just one but two mysteries to unravel. My only problem with the book is I couldn't make it last. I couldn't hit stop on my iPod. The plot, characters and setting are believable and right on target. I just wish Connelly could write faster. I can never get enough of Harry Bosch.

And Len Cariou is wonderful as the narrator. Bosch is the only character where 2 different narrators (Dick Hill and Cariou) can perform him equally as well.

If this is your first Bosch book, wait and listen to others first as there is great backstory in those.

Where does The Drop rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 50.

Would you recommend The Drop to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes I would. Harry Bosch of The Drop is an intelligent and incorruptible cop.

What does Len Cariou bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Len Cariou has become the voice of Bosch. I recently re-read The Black Echo and I all I could hear in my head was Len Cariou's voice taking the place of my own. Cariou adds belief and atmosphere.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Any moment Harry had with is daughter.

Any additional comments?

Connelly continues to give us suspense, integrity and discipline in the character of Harry Bosch. Harry is like a favorite uncle to me. There are few book characters that I always remember, but Bosch will be one of them. I was happy to see Bosch's nemesis Irvin Irving playing a part in the drop, but I also felt the case of Irving's son's suicide was a disjointed part of the story.

Still, a great entry into the continuing sage of Harry and Maddie Bosch.

As expected the latest Bosche story is riveting from start to finish. There was never a section during the book in which in got long winded or stretched out. It is simply amazing how he makes you feel like you are part of the story. I will be the first to admit that I have been missing Dick Hill for awhile. However, my wife and I have really started to get into Len Cariou. He is really doing these books very well. I can actually tell when he kicks it up a notch in the suspense. The only bad part about this book is that I finished it too soon. Now I am out of books from my favorite author. I have listened to all of his books in 2 months. Please hurry up Connelly on the next one, I know it will be a special book for you in the celebration of your 25th book.

Harry Bosch is an unusual character with an unusual life. Yet one feels a close affinity with him because of his 'morality' and why he continues to work in his chosen profession as a dectective inspite of the setbacks and curveballs live has thrown him. Len Cariou brings Harry Bosch alive in a most special way. I enjoy his narration and hope he continues for Harry Harry Bosch inovels in the future.

I have read or listened to nearly every one of Michael Connelly's books and this one does not disappoint. The narrator is excellent and after listening to several Harry Bosch books read by Mr. Cairou, it is difficult to imagine listening to a Harry Bosch book with anyone other than Len Cairou telling the story. As always the story is gripping from the start, the pacing is perfect and sustains your interest through the entire book. Highly recommended.

Two good plots that Connelly did an excellent job of jogging back and forth between. He left us to ponder where the Irving character will be going in the next installment. The mark of a good author is playing with the readers' emotions by having us alternately rooting for and against his characters, some of them very evil. This book delivers.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.